French Reef In Key Largo Is A Diving/Explorers Delight

French Reef in Key Largo is a great dive site, that has lots for divers of varying degrees of experience to enjoy.

Although not one of the more well known of the Florida Keys dive sites, at least those people that we spoke to only vaguely knew of it, it really is spectacular, and I would go onto say that the sound of it even made me want to get into the water and check it out.

And believe me I am not the most avid of divers.....could have been to do with watching Jaws as a kid, or even the Poseidon adventure I'm not sure.

But whatever it is, the thought of jumping into the water and having things swimming around me doesn't make me go...YAY!!!!!

But thats my hang-up, you will love this place due to its crystal clearwaters and amazing coral reefs. ﻿

Smile And Say Cheese Now!

Added to the fact that many different types of Marine life use these crevices and hidden away spots as a natural protection from the threats that live in the sea, you will have plenty of photographic opportunities to take some amazing photos.

Whilst I am talking about photography, if you do fancy taking a few snaps then make sure when you are diving at the Reef that you bring a light with you, as the caves can be quite dark.

Also the site is not really affected by currents which is why its a particularly safe reef to dive, but that can also affect the visibility as the silt can linger a bit when stirred up.

So let's start with showing you exactly where the Reef is, and then if you decide that you fancy getting in a boat and going over there, we will try to explain the highlights of this diving site.

Then you will see a series of bouys marking the spot of this brilliant triangular shaped dive site.

GPS Co-ordinates

25 02.072N 080 20.975W

Image Courtesy of http://floridakeys.noaa.gov

What Can I Explore At French Reef Then?

Once you dip below the waves you will find yourself swimming through limestone ledge openings about three to four feet in size, which makes it a great place for novice divers to negotiate.

The ledges go down to a depth of about sixty feet from the shallows, with a covering of tub sponges attached firmly to the limestone surface all the way down.

It's perhaps the three main caves which are the most impressive with the festively named Christmas Tree Cave being especially so.

The cave is named as such due to a huge star coral pile that looks like, ok and you have to squint a bit of a Christmas Tree!!

The other two caves, Hourglass Cave and White Sand Bottom Cave offer large caverns that you can swim easily whilst being surrounded by dog snappers, moray eels, groupers, and copper-colored glassy sweepers.

So as you can see there is certainly enough to get your diving juices flowing, and if you have never dived before this is a great place for you to start enjoying the past-time.